Insights on Trends of Academic Research into Family Business

Abstract

The question of family business ranks among the most intensively followed areas of research. At the same time, it is a question with a palpable impact on the economic and social environment; in other words, it is a question with a high degree of social relevance. It is a topic both appropriate and necessary, yet very challenging in terms of its interdisciplinarity and scope. The goal of this article is to summarize the research question of family business via a systematic review of literature primarily in terms of topical areas, scientific methods, and study sample size. To evaluate which methods are suitable for examining the issues of family business. The authors drew methodological inspiration from the bibliography of De Massis et al. (2012), in which the authors gathered and organized information related to the topics of empirical articles, including a short description of the sample, a description of the data collections methods used, and a list of secondary data sources used. They reached the conclusion that the use of qualitative research seems logical for research in the areas of identity, culture, values, and relationships, which is the primary socioemotional wealth of family businesses.